“This is a great utility pedal to have on your ’board, something that could really increase your sound’s scope”: Beetronics Nectar Tone Sweetener review
Beetronics’ latest will expand your pedalboard dirt options with drive and fuzz in one small pedal
This is a great utility pedal to have on your ’board, something that could really increase your sound’s scope by virtue of its two different voices. While there’s no reason it couldn’t be your main dirt pedal, the Nectar would certainly fulfil a practical role stacked as a supplementary effect to bring in a little extra when needed.
Pros
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Compact size.
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Both drive and fuzz in a single pedal.
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Cool, intricate graphics.
Cons
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Some may not like the knob placement.
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If you asked us to describe Beetronics’ range of pedals thus far, the overarching theme would be ‘quirky’. The pedals are not just visually and sometimes physically adrift of the norm, but they can be a little niche in the sonics that they provide, too. And that’s no bad thing!
The company’s latest offering in its Babee Series of diminutive pedals, the Nectar, is described as a “tone sweetener” and still has the eccentric visual look and form factor. But in terms of its range of sounds it’s aiming more for the mainstream.
That said, this is Beetronics after all, so what we’ve got is the unusual prospect of having both drive and fuzz in one single-footswitch pedal.
There is no footswitching between the drive and fuzz sounds – that’s undertaken by a toggle switch situated on the end of the chassis. Both sounds are tweaked by Volume, Honey (gain) and Taste (tone) knobs, the latter offering plenty of scope in setting up the sound to best match your rig.
(Image credit: Future / Phil Barker)
The Drive side of things starts off in clean boost territory, but it can run to the sound of a raunchy driven amp. As soon as you kick it in, there’s a substantial roll-off in bottom-end, and there’s a dip in the midrange that gives it a nice Fender-ish flavour. It’ll add an edgy grit to clean sounds or go beyond to a practical solo boost for driven amps – all nicely dynamic, too.
However, the Fuzz is an altogether fuller-sounding prospect, fat and noticeably louder. If you were to use both sounds in an onstage set, you’d probably need to tweak the knobs as well as flip the switch between songs.
It sounds great, though, and is capable of some typical ’60s fuzz sounds but nothing really extreme, as the Taste knob tempers things in an appealing range, and there’s a nice clarity here with every note in a full chord ringing through.
Overall, Fuzz mode offers dirt for everyman, delivering both fuzz and distortion that could slot into a whole range of musical genres.
Trevor Curwen has played guitar for several decades – he's also mimed it on the UK's Top of the Pops. Much of his working life, though, has been spent behind the mixing desk, during which time he has built up a solid collection of the guitars, amps and pedals needed to cover just about any studio session. He writes pedal reviews for Guitarist and has contributed to Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Future Music among others.
